LETTER: Republican insanity throwing U.S. under a bus

“Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” How many of you have been handed a copy of “The Declaration of Independence” by members of the Tea Party at a Fourth of July parade? I personally find that condescending and self-righteous. Now I can also call it hypocritical.

The Taunton Daily Gazette, Taunton, MA

Writer

Posted Oct. 7, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Oct 7, 2013 at 7:01 AM

Posted Oct. 7, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Oct 7, 2013 at 7:01 AM

» Social News

“Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” How many of you have been handed a copy of “The Declaration of Independence” by members of the Tea Party at a Fourth of July parade? I personally find that condescending and self-righteous. Now I can also call it hypocritical.

The Tea Party, the self-professed guardians of “The Declaration of Independence,” is denying a large number of Americans their “unalienable Rights.” Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness are being squelched because of the Tea Party-induced government shutdown. Life-saving research and new clinical trials, not offered anywhere else, have stopped at the National Institutes of Health putting Life, including that of the youngest of our citizens, in certain jeopardy. Affected person’s hands have been tied, no longer at Liberty to go about their daily lives. Miss Liberty herself is closed. For those whose life and liberty are not what they were a few days ago, their pursuit of Happiness has turned into a standstill of despair. Happiness is rapidly turning to anger across this country. Congress is acting in a way that is entirely unsupported by the American people.

The insanity and incompetence of extremist Republicans is throwing this country under a bus. A National Park Ranger at the World War II Memorial in Washington was yelled at by a disgruntled Rep. Randy Neugebauer for doing her job of turning away members of the public while allowing only veterans into the memorial. Fire-stoking Sen. Ted Cruz, so charmed by and confident in his own beliefs, claims he doesn’t know what to do now. Sen. Rand Paul and Sen. Mitch McConnell were embarrassingly caught whispering in proud confidence of their party’s strategy resulting in a certain “win,” as if this dreadful situation is a game.

Congress does not know which battles to fight and when to fight them. Such poor judgment deserves to be ousted. The electorate has no course of action until election time. Time is of the essence. The rest of Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike, should rise up against what has become a common enemy, The Tea Party, and fire them! Fire them for the sake of the majority of American people who believe in common sense, who abhor extremism, and who believe that our government works only as well as does its elected officials.

Fire them for the sake of “The Declaration of Independence.”

If the few dozen radical road-blocking members were immediately replaced by level-headed thinkers then the government could get back to work. It is possible to disagree yet still move forward; it is what our country has always done.

Unimaginable accomplishment, it is a hallmark of the United States. If this is resolved anytime soon without detrimental effect, then let this episode of American history at least serve as a reminder to voters of extreme-minded candidates, that it is possible for this grand experiment to fail, to dance on the brink of failure and fall to ideological extremism.